Tehran: Academy Of Art Plans To Establish Orchestra

ACADEMY OF ART PLANS TO ESTABLISH ORCHESTRA

Mehr News Agency, Iran
April 10 2006

TEHRAN, Apr. 10 (MNA) — The Academy of Art is planning to establish
an orchestra of string instruments, the Persian service of CHN reported
on Monday.

The orchestra, which will probably be called the Academy of Art
Orchestra, is to be conducted by veteran musician Shahin Farhat.

Farhat said that the orchestra would begin with fifteen musicians
and would perform at seminars held by the academy, adding that it
would record the music produced by the academy or other Iranian
organizations.

“The ‘Iran Symphony’, recorded in Armenia with the Armenian
Philharmonic Orchestra, was sponsored by the Academy of Art, so the
academy must have an orchestra of its own so we don’t have to go to
Armenia for recordings,” he noted.

The academy’s program for this year includes workshops on publishing
old music manuscripts, studying the music of the Isfahan School in
the Safavid era, and Iran’s dastgahi music. In Iranian music, a set
of notes, their special characteristics, and an associated group of
traditional melodies that constitute a basis for improvised performance
is called a dastgah.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Emil Lazarian

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS